Shoot the Moon

By: Isa Arsén

Narrated by: Kristen Sieh

How far would you travel for love?

Intelligent but isolated recent physics graduate Annie Fisk feels an undeniable pull toward space. Her childhood memories dimmed by loss, she has left behind her home, her family, and her first love in pursuit of intellectual fulfillment. When she finally lands a job as a NASA secretary during the Apollo 11 mission, the work is everything she dreamed, and while she feels a budding attraction to one of the engineers, she can’t get distracted. Not now.

When her inability to ignore mistaken calculations propels her into a new position, Annie finds herself torn between her ambition, her heart, and a mysterious discovery that upends everything she knows to be scientifically true. Can she overcome her doubts and reach beyond the limits of time and space?

Affecting, immersive, and kaleidoscopic, Shoot the Moon tells the story of one singular life at multiple points in time, one woman's quest to honor both her head and her heart amid the human toll of scientific progress.

©2023 Isa Arsen (P)2023 Penguin Audio

Critic reviews

One of BookBub’s Best Books for Fall
One of Shondaland’s Best Books for October 2023
One of Zibby Magazine’s Most Anticipated Books

"A bold and unconventional love story. Arsén writes with real heart and certainly demonstrates talent as a storyteller. . . . Readers should look forward to what she creates next.” —Associated Press

\"Explorations of love, loss, science, and the edges of the universe and what is—and is not—possible in the space-time continuum collide in this story; it's reminiscent of the thoughtfulness, matter-of-fact science, and female strength of Connie Willis’ well-known time traveling series beginning with Doomsday Book (1992) as well as the world portrayed in Margot Lee Shetterly's Hidden Figures (2016). A delightful and surprising story of a woman drawn through life by curiosity." —Kirkus Reviews

"Heartbreaking . . . Arsén asks big questions about love and duty, the human cost of scientific inquiry, and the difficulty of moving on from past trauma--but she also tells a cinematic story of fierce dedication and blazing love." —Shelf Awareness

Scientific Method? Really?

It’s difficult to write this without spoilers, so, be warned! This was a pleasant enough story until folks — scientists, no less, and from NASA, for goodness’ sake — skip over massive experimental protocols to test an “anomaly” with a human subject! Honestly, I nearly stopped listening right then! If experiments had been conducted that way at the real NASA, we’d never have achieved all we have! Still, the story was amusing and I did appreciate the strong (albeit limited, due to the historical period’s restrictions) female characters.

Stick with it

I found the first third of this book pretty boring, BUT once the main character got into her science experiments the booked picked considerably. By the end I liked it and was happy I stuck with it.

absolutely magical!!

It's a wonderful story full of recursive themes and surprising epiphanies and deep observations and what it really means to be alive and to love. just when you think you know where it's going it's surprises you and then brings you right back where you started but with fresh knowing every time. it is an absolutely brilliant and wonderous and hope inspiring work and the narrative performance is unparalleled. I cannot recommend this one highly enough 🌛

Not Where it Could Have Gone

The storyline had great potential at the beginning, then it crumbled into a ridiculous second half. Not the adventurous and heart-warming novel you anticipate when reading the description.